Meaningful
by HellIsHere
Summary: Starts during summer before Harry's sixth year. Ron reflects on the Department of Mysteries fiasco and how he sees himself in relation to Harry and Hermione. He doesn't like his conclusions. He never really saw himself as special or important, but he's going to discover how wrong her was... R/Hr, M for mature content (language, sex, violence) in later chapters.
1. A heart to heart

**If any of you are reading the "Harry and John" series, don't worry - it's still being worked on, but I had an idea for another really long story, and if it works out right, this may be another series! I hope you enjoy it!**

**Third person POV**

A warm, lazy July afternoon at the Burrow was one of Ron's favourite situations. He had (with Hermione's nagging through her letters) finished his holiday homework, had no chores for the day left, and could simply do as he pleased. And his decision was to take a walk to a nearby pond, and relax by the side of it, with his feet dipped into the water.

His dreams of late had been about the night at the Department of Mysteries. About Harry. Voldemort. _Sirius..._

His time alone at the pond allowed him to try and come to terms with what happened just two weeks ago. He hadn't had any extended amounts of time alone with his thoughts, save for the nights where he would inevitably think about it, but only with a tired mind and heavy eyelids. Now, wide awake, Ron could truly try to get over the events of that night.

The first thing he felt was sorrow for both Harry and Sirius. Harry's life had been hard enough, and now the closest thing he knew to a father had been cruelly ripped away from him. Sirius' life wasn't much better - an insane family, years in prison for something he never did, being trapped in the house where as a child he was tormented, and to top it all off, only after his death was he was found innocent.

What an insult. Sirius was one of the best people Ron had met. So much resilience, strength and compassion. All of his potential was wasted. By a coward. It all came down to Wormtail again.

Of course it did.

The mere thought of the traitorous ex-Marauder made Ron's blood boil. He tried to get his mind off it and bring it back to the incident at the Department of Mysteries. He felt that if he didn't come to peace with it now, he wouldn't get many more chances soon. Hermione was due to arrive at the burrow soon.

Normally the thought of the intelligent, bushy-haired witch would make Ron smile, but now, it made him feel pathetic. He found out what happened to her. Dolohov hit her with an unknown curse which he wasn't there to take in her stead. After he found that out, Ron swore to himself that he'd do everything in his power to keep Hermione safe and happy.

If it meant doing his own homework, so be it. If it meant letting Hermione start going out with Krum or whoever, without saying a word, so be it.

_If it meant Ron dying for her, so be it._

**Ron POV**

I've never really thought about this, but I reckon mine and Hermione's friendship with Harry's going to get us into some serious shit. For all my uselessness and my shortcomings, I'm at least useful for one thing. I won't hesitate to take a hit for them. It's not like I was going to amount to much anyway...

But Harry? Hermione? Blimey, they were going to have the world at their feet! They could do whatever they want. Provided that Harry succeeds.

The prophecy really makes me feel for Harry - having to kill... him before he gets killed... it's bloody terrifying. I wish I could switch places with him. Ironically it's not to have the good stuff he has this time. I just want his suffering to end. It's about time he got something good into his life, and now he finds out he has to kill a fucking dark lord!

**Third Person POV**

Ron's thoughts about Harry eventually brought him back to Hermione. Before last year, he had no idea why he looked at Hermione differently to other girls, but he figured it out. Teaspoon or not, his emotional depth was enough to work out that he was in love with her. However, he had never really admitted it to himself. He was always preoccupied with Harry or something else.

"Blimey." he mumbled to himself.

He began to impatiently wonder where Hermione was. Taking his feet out of the cool pond, he looked out at the horizon, to see that the sun was just beginning to set. Since it was summer that meant it was probably about six o'clock - Hermione was probably arriving soon.

As he began to stand up, Ron suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

With a yelp, Ron leapt forwards, which unfortunately lead him into the pond, which was deeper than he thought - his feet didn't even touch the bottom.

Treading water, he looked up to see the very thing he was just thinking about, the object of his affections, and the cause of so many of his frustrations, looking more beautiful than ever, blushing with her hands over her mouth. Her hair wasn't quite as bushy as usual, and she looked... somehow more Hermione-ish than he remembered. It didn't make much sense in his head anyway...

"Oh Ron, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that!" Hermione exclaimed, embarrassed.

"It's alright, I'm just feeling a bit jumpy." said Ron, climbing out of the pond.

"I'd hug you but..." Ron added, motioning to his now soaked body.

Hermione giggled for a moment.

"It's really good to see you though. I've really wanted to talk to you alone after..." Hermione trailed off.

Ron knew what she was talking about.

"I've been thinking about it too. You reckon Harry's going to get like he was at the beginning of last year? I wouldn't blame him mind you. Poor bloke's been through way too much." said Ron, taking his freezing shirt off.

Hermione blushed, looking at Ron's shirtless body. He certainly wasn't a lanky fourteen year old any more. Or anywhere near lanky. Here he was, sixteen, and built like an athlete. Toned muscles, broad chest and... Oh God. That V-cut bellow the stomach that drove her crazy! Looking up, however, she saw scars. And plenty of them. Mostly from the battle of the Department of Mysteries she presumed. They were definitely healed, but still distinct. Although he gained them in a life or death situation which he shouldn't have even been in, she thought they made him look... even sexier.

She tried to push those thoughts away to respond to Ron's statement.

"Oh I know, I wish we could do something! Sirius was all the family he had left." Hermione said, sadly.

"Hey, I don't think so. I reckon we're his family. My family and you." Ron said, encouragingly.

"That's so sweet of you Ron! Whatever Harry ends up going through, he's so lucky to have you there with him!" Hermione replied, hugging him, before becoming fully aware that he had no shirt on.

Blushing, she let him go.

"Sorry." she mumbled.

"S'OK. Shall we head back to the Burrow?" Ron asked, his ears going red after realising that Hermione had not only seen him shirtless, but now touched him as well. He was proud of the results of his new exercise and diet, but...

"Yes. Your mother said that she's making roast chicken and potatoes, so I'm assuming that you'll want to be there soon." Hermione replied, grinning at him.

"In that case, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

When they arrived at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley was the first to notice.

"Ron, why on Earth are you soaked and not wearing your shirt?" she asked, suspicious.

"Well I was at the pond, and Hermione scared the shi- err living daylights out of me." Ron replied, smirking at a blushing Hermione.

"Sorry Mrs. Weasley." Hermione mumbled.

"Not to worry dear, now Ron, just get changed and I'll put a drying charm on those clothes." said Mrs. Weasley.

Ron nodded and stomped up the stairs, to do just that, knowing that roast chicken awaited him.

Of course, he wasn't disappointed - Mrs. Weasley, as usual had prepared a diner fit for royalty, and Ron, as usual inhaled his food. He ate roughly twice as much as Hermione in just over half the time.

Ginny was, as per normal disgusted at Ron's rate of consumption, making a face as he did what he did best. Eat inordinate amounts of food.

Once they were finished, however, Hermione turned to Ron.

"Ron, can I come up to your room? There's a lot I want to talk to you about." said Hermione, standing up.

"Sure, let's head there now." said Ron.

Hermione didn't notice Ginny's wink and smirk, but Ron did, and he replied with a scowl.

However, it was long gone by the time they reached Ron's room.

"So Hermione, what's up?" Ron asked.

"I was just thinking about what you said about Harry." Hermione began.

"Yeah?"

"I really meant what I said. Harry is lucky to have you around. I am too." Hermione said.

"Really? I thought I just held you two back..." Ron mumbled.

Hermione was shocked.

"Ron! How can you think that!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well you've said it before yourself - I'm lazy, not as clever as either of you and apparently have the emotional range of a teaspoon." Ron said, all in one breath, looking down at his feet.

Hermione wanted to try and remind him that she had also said a lot of good things about Ron over the years, but with a shock, realized that her complements directed at Ron were few and far between. She also realized that she spent a _lot_ more time pointing out his flaws. She was furious with herself and wanted to cry at the same time. She was fixating on Harry, who was deprived of affection most of his life, without recognizing that she may have only fed Ron's insecurities.

It wasn't exactly hard to complement a person as wonderful as Ron, so why didn't she do it? Ron may have thrown his fair share of angry words Hermione's way over the years, but always remembered to tell her that she was brilliant.

"Oh Ron... I'm so sorry." She said, softly hugging him.

"You're wonderful Ron, I'm sorry I never really told you that, and I don't even know why. " she said, realizing that she was trembling.

"But I'm not. And why are you trembling?" Ron asked.

"Yes you are! And I'm trembling because I feel awful at the way I've treated you! I'm supposed to be your friend, and I've just criticized you for five years in a row!" Hermione wailed.

She inwardly scoffed at herself. She says she loves him and despite his difficulty at understanding the emotions of others, she gives him almost nothing to go on!

"Well, as much as I hate to admit you're right... again... there's a lot to criticize isn't there? I reckon it's about time I tried to grow up and try and be a better bloke. Like dad, Bill or Charlie." said Ron.

To say Hermione was impressed was an understatement. She may have loved Ron as he was, but the fact that he had just acknowledged his flaws and expressed a desire to mature almost made her jump on him and snog him then and there. She restrained herself, however. She also noted that he may have gained this new outlook for less than ideal reasons (notably near-death experiences).

But there wasn't much wrong with Ron anyway, he wasn't perfect, but in Hermione's eyes, he was close. Immaturity and laziness were things that could easily go on their own, and aside from that, there wasn't much wrong with Ron.

"Ron, do you realize that there are only two real problems with you? You can be immature and lazy, but those are only two problems, which should go on their own... I shouldn't have fixated on them, I'm sorry." said Hermione.

"No, you're right. It really is time I grew up. My friendship with Harry is probably the most important thing in my life right now, and he's not getting much out of an immature, lazy prat, is he?" Ron asked.

"You're so much more than that! Harry is a really intense person, and I think I am too. We both need you to be able to calm us down, make us laugh or relax, and there are few people who are as good as you at that. Without you, I don't think my own friendship with Harry would be anything like it actually is. You're like our glue Ron." Hermione explained, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Really?" Ron asked, looking up at her and smiling.

Hermione smiled back, giving Ron his answer.

"Thanks Hermione! Blimey, I thought I was useless." said Ron.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way Ron. You're not." Hermione said, still warmly smiling at him.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, before Ron brought up the all-important best friend of theirs.

"Hermione, what about Harry? He's probably crushed right now. I've sent letters, but he doesn't seem the same in his replies. He seems... short, distanced even." said Ron.

"I think he's just trying to avoid feeling anything altogether after what happened to..." Hermione began, before tears began welling up in her eyes. A few trickled down her face.

Ron reacted by doing something Hermione would never have expected from Ron. He wiped the tears off her face, brushing her chin with his thumb afterwards.

"I miss him too." he said, solemnly.

Those four words allowed Hermione to finally break down. She sobbed into Ron's chest, lamenting the loss of Sirius Black, one of the bravest men they had ever come across. She also lamented the horror that their best friend had to endure as part of his life. He was too young for this, yet he was up against the definition of merciless.

"It's not fair! Harry's too young for this! Sirius didn't deserve any of it!" She choked out.

Seeing Hermione, one of the most important people in his life, and the girl of his dreams so broken and distraught almost made Ron cry too. But he remained resolute in trying to remain strong, and held her as she vented her emotional burdens.

When she was done, instead of looking at Ron's face, she looked at his shirt.

"That's the second shirt I've done that to today." she said.

Looking down, Ron realized that his shirt was soaked. Hermione really cried a lot about it all. Understandably though.

Ron smirked. Hermione could still make him smile in such an emotionally vulnerable state.

"Ron, thank you for being here for me. I'm sorry about your shirt." Hermione said, both gratefully and sheepishly.

"It's no problem. I'll just leave it out on the windowsill. It's a warm night after all." said Ron.

"Goodnight Ron. Thanks again." said Hermione, heading towards Ginny's room, where she was going to sleep.

Ron continued to think of Hermione that night. He could hardly believe that he hadn't acknowledged that he loved her earlier. He had done so for about two years, and didn't admit it to himself.

He also thought about the things she said to him. How he was better than he was given credit for, especially by Hermione herself. He smiled at the thought that Hermione thought so highly of him. Before then, he thought himself relatively useless, but that particular insecurity was almost single handedly destroyed by Hermione's praise of him.

Hermione not only occupied his thoughts then. She consumed them.

_I wish I could have been a better friend to him._

**Ron POV**

What? That was Hermione's voice. Why can I hear it?

_He deserves a better friend than me. I have to be the friend he needs from now on. I can't believe he thinks so poorly of himself!_

Alright... that's definitely her voice. Why in the name of Merlin's left nut can I hear her voice?

I'll just wait and see if I hear it again... Maybe I'm just thinking about her too much.

* * *

Well it's been a few minutes, and I've not heard it again. Maybe I'm just thinking about her too much. My thinking process isn't being helped by the fact that I'm bloody tired... I should go to sleep.

But why did I hear about her wanting to be a better friend to me? I should probably stop thinking about it, my mind's probably playing tricks on me.

Yeah. That's it. I'm fine, nothing weird's going on. I'm just tired.

**First chapter there for you. Ron's done some self-evaluation and came to some overly harsh conclusions. Also, why was he randomly hearing Hermione's voice? Stay tuned, and I'll give you more ;)**


	2. Newfound power

The next week or so went by without incident, and despite the very emotional talk between Ron and Hermione, the rest of their interactions were far more light-hearted.

When Harry arrived, however, the discussions became much more serious.

"I don't know what Dumbledore wants from this Slughorn bloke, but what I do know is that Slughorn taught Voldemort when he was at shcool. Maybe Slughorn knows something that Dumbledore doesn't?" Harry wondered.

"Yeah, and you said the Death Eaters were trying to recruit him? Maybe it's something that Slughorn has that both sides want. Good thing Dumbledore got there first." said Ron.

"Actually, Dumbledore's been trying to recruit him for as long as the Death Eaters. Weeks. The thing is, the reason why Slughorn said yes to teaching is that he has a love for teaching students who go on to be famous. I'm already famous." said Harry.

"That's awfully shallow isn't it?" Hermione asked, dissaprovingly.

"Yeah but I don't really care right now. I'll be having regular meetings with Dumbledore about the whole Voldemort situation. I'll tell you whatever we find out or talk about." Harry promised.

"Blimey, it's got that serious..." Ron pondered out loud.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well I know he had his reasons, but last year, Dumbledore didn't tell Harry anything. Now suddenly, he's going to tell Harry everything he knows, everything he figures out. It sounds a bit weird if you think about it, but it must be getting bad..." said Ron.

"You're right. Dumbledore was intent on keeping Harry away from it all, protect him in a way, but now he's turned around by a hundred and eighty degrees and telling Harry everything." said Hermione.

_When did Ron get so insightful?_

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at him, confused.

"Was there something I said?" Hermione asked. Harry was looking at Ron with the same confused expression.

"You asked when I got so insightful. How did you do that without opening your mouth?" Ron asked.

"I _didn't_ say that Ron. I... I thought it." said Hermione, shocked, staring at Ron as if he'd sprouted an extra head.

"Are you sure? Harry did you hear her ask that?" Ron asked.

"No. She said nothing after that comment about Dumbledore telling me everything. If she said she thought it, then she thought it. She's not one to think out loud." said Harry.

"Alright... how did I do that?" Ron asked, feeling worried.

"I don't know. I thought that the _leginimens _spell that Harry saw Snape use was the only way to read thoughts... have you been reading all of my thoughts?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"No! I just heard you asked about me being insightful. But... the night you arrived, I did hear you thinking about... well, our friendship when you left the room. I thought I was just tired and hearing things." said Ron.

All thought of Dumbledore was forgotten. This was... strange. To say the least.

"Ron, think very carefully. Has there ever been a time before the night I arrived that this happened?" Hermione asked him, seriously.

Ron thought back hard, wondering if he'd ever heard someone's voice randomly in his head, but that had never happened before.

"No. The night you arrived was the first time that happened. I didn't even realize that I heard your thoughts." Ron explained.

_Why did he start then? What could have sparked that?_

This time, Ron heard Harry's voice.

"Harry... I think I just heard your thoughts too." said Ron.

"What? Alright, what did I think about?" Harry asked.

"You were wondering what could have sparked this ability to hear thoughts." said Ron.

Harry's eyes widened. He nodded, unable to say a word.

"How are you doing that!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I-I don't know! I don't think I can control it, it just sort of happens." said Ron.

"Ron, you need to write to professor Dumbledore about this. He might know something about it." said Harry.

"Yes, and until then, we need to work out what the trigger is." said Hermione.

"I can't control it, so what do you mean?" asked Ron.

"Well, whatever it is, we know that it's an ability of yours, and there must be something causing it. It must be a subconscious reaction to something that we might be doing." said Hermione.

Ron nodded, slowly, beginning to understand what Hermione was saying.

* * *

Ron did as Hermione asked and wrote to Dumbledore, but it wasn't until a week later, the morning before they left for King's cross station next day, that he got his reply. He read it out to Harry, while Hermione was sleeping in, under Ron's insistence.

"Mr._ Weasley,_

_Thank you for taking the time to write to me, and, save for your issue, I hope you are well._

_I have thought long and hard about this new-found 'ability' of yours, but I cannot think of any personal experiences where I have known this to happen. The only way of reading minds that I was aware of is the skill of leginimency. However, I combed the Hogwarts library, and found something very interesting indeed. I found that, hundreds of years ago, there were an order of wizards, a group of no more than twenty in Britain, who possessed the ability to hear the thoughts of whomever they chose._

_They were a very select order, and they were constantly on the lookout for those with similar powers to yours, albeit they were raw and uncontrollable, which is just how you described it. The last of them died over one hundred and fifty years ago, and their powers were thought to have died with them. I am unsure as to why these powers revealed themselves to you so recently, but our knowledge of such abilities is very limited, seeing as there were only a few with such abilities and they were thought to have died out._

_If you could come with Mr. Potter at eight o'clock in the evening on the eighth of September, perhaps we can make sense of this. I already know that Mr. Potter would tell you what we find out about Voldemort, so no harm would be done. Your own insight could prove valuable as well._

_Yours in confidence,_

_Albus Dumbledore_"

After reading it aloud, Harry was awestruck. Ron was practically a living relic into the past with this new-found power.

"Ron... we need to figure out where you got this from!" Harry exclaimed.

"It's a bit hard considering that I haven't heard anyone's thoughts in days." said Ron.

"Should we wake Hermione? Surely with her help we can get this." Harry asked.

"No, she's been up late almost every day reading everything she can on this. It's about time she got a long sleep in. It's the holidays and she's sacrificing sleep for me, so she deserves it." said Ron.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. What do you suppose Dumbledore's going to talk to us about when we discuss your powers?" asked Harry.

"He's probably going to ask me what I already know, and maybe about some of my experiences. He might be able to spot patterns we can't." said Ron.

"You're probably right. But have you noticed any patterns at all?" Harry asked.

"No. But as Hermione's noted in the past, I'm not the most observant bloke around." Ron said, smirking.

"Neither am I in all fairness. She makes up for it on her own though." Harry replied, smirking back.

"She makes up for a lot of our stupidity though, doesn't she?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I doubt we'd have passed any of our OWLs without her." said Harry, referring to their better-than-expected results.

"But of course, you look at hers, and all she can think about is getting an E in Defence, and she even thinks it's disappointing." Ron added, smiling at Hermione's studious attitude.

"You know, I think this is the latest we've ever seen Hermione sleep to." said Harry, pointing out that it was ten o'clock.

"Yeah, and I sometimes just sleep until twelve. I don't know how she does it." said Ron.

"It's a little trait called discipline Ron." came Hermione's voice from the stairs.

"Good morning you two." she said, smiling at them.

" 'Morning Hermione Sleep well?" Harry asked.

"Yes, thanks. So has Dumbledore replied yet?" Hermione asked.

"Straight to it I see. Well yes, he has. Give it a read. I'll make you some breakfast. Mum's gone grocery shopping and Ginny's out in the village." said Ron, handing Hermione Dumbledore's letter.

"Thank you Ron, but you don't have to make me breakfast." said Hermione, smiling as she took the letter.

"Yeah, but why not?" said Ron, heading to the kitchen.

Hermione looked at Harry.

"He's really making an effort, isn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Effort at what?" Harry asked.

"Maturing. He told me when I arrived that he wants to try and grow up. It's nice to know that he listens." said Hermione.

"He actually listens to you a lot more than you'd realize. He's just pretty forgetful, but stuff you say generally matters to him a lot." said Harry.

"We did talk for a while when I arrived. I don't know why I didn't have that talk with him earlier, I've had five years to do it." said Hermione.

"At least you did it. He told me last night that he'd never felt special until you had that talk with him. I honestly felt like an idiot, but he said that it's fine. I guess I really lucked out meeting him on the train all those years ago." said Harry.

"I felt horrible too. I call myself his friend, but that was the first time I'd realized that I'd barely ever said anything encouraging to him." said Hermione.

"Well he certainly knows how to forgive. Shall we?" Harry asked, motioning towards the kitchen.

"After you." said Hermione.

Hermione followed Harry into the kitchen, and immediately smelled some of the most delicious smelling bacon and eggs she had ever smelled.

"Wow Ron, when did you learn how to cook? That smells delicious." said Hermione.

"Over this summer. I haven't needed to cook since mum's always around, but since she's shopping, you'll have to contend with my cooking I'm afraid." said Ron, smirking at her.

"It doesn't smell like it will be any worse." Hermione replied, smiling at Ron, trying to ignore her rumbling stomach.

Hermione proceeded to read the letter, and had a similar reaction to Harry.

"Ron... you're a living relic!" said Hermione.

Harry smirked, noting how that was exactly what He himself had thought.

"Well, I don't ever remember being like this before, is there anything we've done which may have given me these powers at all?" Ron asked, setting down a plate of bacon, eggs and toast for Hermione.

"No, not that I can remember." said Harry.

Hermione thought for a moment.

"It's a long-shot. But what about the brains? At the Department of Mysteries?" She said, before taking a bite of her breakfast.

"Blimey. Hermione, I think you're right, what if the Ministry kept the brains of that order of mind-readers?" Ron asked, his eyes wide.

"It's a possibility. But it's disgusting don't you think? Keeping brains in jars? Especially when those brains were actually animated, and they ended up attacking you!" Hermione said.

"Well we don't even know if it was the brains, but yeah, it is sick." said Ron.

The three of them fell into an uncomfortable silence as Hermione ate. Hermione then chose to break the silence.

"Ron, this is really good." she said, appreciatively.

"Thanks." Ron replied, smiling.

Hermione finished off her breakfast, eating faster than Ron had ever seen her eat. He didn't know why, but that in particular made him feel particularly proud. It wasn't exactly a grand gesture or anything, but he felt like he had genuinely accomplished something.

It was probably the fact that it was _Hermione_ who was enjoying the food that made him so proud.

_He really is maturing, I hope this ability won't hurt him. I hope Dumbledore can figure out what this all means._

"I'm sure he will Hermione." said Ron.

Harry looked at him, confused, while Hermione, who wasn't expecting that, was the first to reply.

"Ron, you just did it again!" she said.

"Err... sorry?" Ron tried, not knowing what to say.

"No, don't be, just tell me what you were thinking about right before you heard my thoughts!" Hermione explained, quickly.

"Err, OK. I was just feeling proud that you enjoyed the food I made. Nothing that really sticks out to be honest." said Ron.

Hermione's face fell.

"Sorry I got so worked up. I just hoped we might have stumbled across a breakthrough.

"Just out of curiosity, what did you say 'I'm sure he will' to? And also, could you try not to reply to thoughts? It would definitely freak me out if you did that randomly." said Harry.

"Sorry. And I'm not sure if I can tell you, I mean it's Hermione's thoughts, and aren't they private?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.

"Thank you Ron. At least you can keep things private if you accidentally hear my thoughts. But this one is alright. I was just hoping that this ability of Ron's doesn't hurt him and that Dumbledore can make sense of all of this." said Hermione.

"What if I can control it one day though? I mean, would you be alright with me reading your minds? And whose minds _should_ I try to read?" Ron asked.

"We can't stop you from reading our minds Ron, but I know I'd prefer it if you didn't. Although if you do learn to control it, if you manage to read some Death Eaters' or even Voldemort's mind, then you could turn into the best weapon we have..." Harry mused aloud.

Hermione's eyes widened.

Ron, however seemed to remain unfazed.

"But how would this thing work on people who are good at occlumency? No offence, but you're not exactly a decent occlumens Harry, and I can read your thoughts easily. Although I'm still doing it by accident." said Ron, thoughtfully.

"Ron, that's... a really insightful thought." Hermione said, impressed.

"And that's surprising?" Ron replied, smirking.

"No! I didn't mean... You're just messing with me aren't you?" Hermione replied, sighing.

"Sorry." Ron said, with a sheepish grin.

"It's alright. For the record though, I don't think it's strange to hear you say something intelligent though." said Hermione, with Ron's insecurities in mind.

"Yeah I know. Or at least, I do now, you know after that... that talk." said Ron.

Hermione nodded, thinking back to the all-important talk she had with Ron, and how much she had learned in such a short period of time about Ron.

"Blimey guys, what happened on that talk you two had?" Harry asked.

"I think Ron and I finally came to an understanding. We both admitted our shortcomings with regards to our friendship, and agreed to work on them." Hermione said, in a business-like tone.

Harry looked at Ron.

"What she said." Ron said, causing Harry and Hermione to snicker for a moment.

* * *

**Ron POV**

I know I'm going back to Hogwarts tomorrow, but I can't stop thinking about Harry's problems. He's my best mate and one of the best blokes I can think of, and he's been dealing with absolute shite all his life, and it's only going to get worse.

Blimey, I've been thinking about this until one? I'd better get to sleep, Hermione's going to have my head if I don't wake up on time. And that's assuming she gets to tear it off before mum does...

Still though, what can I do to help him? I can't control this bloody mind-reading ability, so that's useless, Hermione's best at spells and knows bloody everything, and then there's me. The guy needs some proper help. If Dumbledore can help me sort out these problems, I'd be able to help Harry. Properly for once.

It's what he needs and deserves anyway.

_I wonder what sort of stuff Dumbledore's got planned on the eighth. Maybe he's got ideas for some sort of weapon to deal with Voldemort. Maybe he's going to train me? I can't wait, but at the same time, when I go... it'll feel like it's already started. To be fair, I sort of started the war myself._

Fucking hell, that's Harry's thoughts! How am I doing this?

OK, calm down Ron, just think of something that doesn't get you all worked up. Think about mum's roast lamb. With potatoes and gravy. With some Yorkshire pudding...

Oh great now I'm hungry.

This is going to be a long night...


End file.
